An "ultrapixel" camera and stereo speakers adorn the new phone's sleek body.

HTC announced a new Android smartphone, the "new HTC One," at a press event Tuesday in New York City. The phone runs a new version of HTC's UI overlay, "Android with HTC Sense."

Inside, the phone has a quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor and 2GB of RAM. The device runs Android 4.1.2 (not 4.2 as we originally reported) Jelly Bean, skinned with HTC's Sense 5.0. It has a 4.7-inch 1080p screen.

The new version of Sense "delivers improvements on cameras and sound," said Jason Mackenzie, president of HTC. The new version includes a feature called "BlinkFeed" that threads updates from services of the user's choosing together into one interface. The feed is highly visual, presenting stories as a series of photos augmented by tiny captions.

The phone's body design includes two front-facing Beats Audio-certified stereo speakers, one above the phone's screen and one below. The microphone inside the phone features HDR recording. Sense also includes Sense TV, which allows users to control TVs from their smartphone (HTC did not further specify in the presentation how this is accomplished).

The HTC One uses an “UltraPixel camera,” which HTC says captures 300 percent more light than normal smartphone cameras. HTC emphasized how the new design will help in low-light situations, stating that it helps prevent graininess in low-light photos.

HTC displays a comparison of low-light photos taken by the new HTC One, top, and two other unnamed smartphones along the bottom.

Casey Johnston

Another camera feature, HTC Zoe, captures HD video and images simultaneously to help users capture images in fast-moving situations. HTC did not specify the resolution at which this feature captures images. Zoe can also automatically edit videos into a set of highlights and set the videos to music, as well as compose multiple shots into one photo.

The name of the phone builds on HTC's previous series of flagship phones, including the HTC One X and One S. The phone will come in both black and white, and it has a “zero-gap” seamless aluminum body, wherein the antenna is integrated into the shell of the phone.

The aluminum back of the new HTC One.

In HTC's "largest rollout ever," the phone will launch in 80 countries and with 185 mobile operators and partners around the world in "late March," according to Mike Woodward, HTC's Americas president. In the US, the phone will launch with Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile, and it will be priced at $199 with a two-year contract.

HTC's event is currently in progress. We will update this article as more details become available.

I'm not real familiar with Android phones, but isn't it the general concensus that when you buy one, you will spend some time tweaking and modifying the software to get rid of crapware they put on there?

If HTC really wanted to sell me a phone they'd dump Sense and make updates available directly bypassing the carriers on a similar lag time to the Nexus line.

They don't want to sell you a single phone. They want to sell AT&T and Verizon millions of phones. Which means bypassing the carriers isn't an option.

I hate it, but there it is.

And the irony of this is that they've been failing to sell enough phones through this strategy. I don't buy phones from carriers any longer, but I'd still have to wait months or years for updates from HTC for unlocked unbranded phones thanks to their clinging to Sense UI.

All I really wanted out of this announcement was a clear statement regarding updates, something along the lines of, "we will push updates to our carrier partners no later than 30 days after the source is made available to us." After that, I can take care of yelling at my carrier to get updates, or I'll switch to a carrier that will provide them to me in a timely manner.

I don't care about the "new" Sense, the ultrapixel camera, or any of that other crap. The One X was, and is, a fine piece of hardware.

I want to know about the battery life. HTC manufactures phones which, IMO, are the best Android phones available in terms of form factor, features, and display.

But the battery life is always a disaster. It's what drove me to a Motorola phone, and it's what will keep me there for my next purchase, despite wanting to want an HTC phone. The Evo I had before my current phone wouldn't last through a day of business travel - and flying is enough of a pain without introducing a panicked hunt for a power drop at every layover.

I'm not real familiar with Android phones, but isn't it the general concensus that when you buy one, you will spend some time tweaking and modifying the software to get rid of crapware they put on there?

Honest question, just curious.

That really depends on where you get the phone.

A phone from a carrier? Yes, it will almost certainly have crapware and various OS "tweaks" (Sense and the like), some of which probably cannot be removed or undone without rooting it and going with stock android or a custom ROM - if that's even possible.

A Nexus from the Google Play store, or a phone from a source that doesn't crap it up and/or lock the boot loader? Not really a problem at all. Uninstalling apps is very easy.

Pure, stock Android is quite manageable! The problem is crap, in one form or another, from carriers (edit: and/or OEMs - some manufacturers also crap 'em up).

I can't believe that this seems to be the first smartphone with front-facing stereo speakers. But I think it is.

Now add a solid kickstand, timely Android updates and a good battery life...

you might remember a WP7 phone by HTC called the surround, on AT&T's network. It was a horizontal slider with a kick stand. The differentiating factor was that when you slide it open, instead of a keyboard, you got front facing stereo surround speakers.

but as far as one on top and one on bottom, yes I believe this is the first.

I can't believe that this seems to be the first smartphone with front-facing stereo speakers. But I think it is.

Nokia N900, and one or two others that I saw advertised just after I got my Nokia but I forget the brands.

Technically, the Nokia speakers aren't front-facing - they're on each end, facing out. I don't use mine for a phone, but as a mini boombox. 32 gb internal storage (~29 gig useable) + up to 32 gb micro SD. Still available on newegg, last I checked.

The other one I definitely remember seeing pictures of had a screen that slid down to reveal front-facing stereo speakers along the exposed top edge.

And another OEM falls for this 1080p malarky. Nevermind that 720p would offer a smoother framerate and longer battery life with nearly indistinguishable fidelity, they need to make a product that looks better on paper even if it results in a worse experience.

And another OEM falls for this 1080p malarky. Nevermind that 720p would offer a smoother framerate and longer battery life with nearly indistinguishable fidelity, they need to make a product that looks better on paper even if it results in a worse experience.

I can't agree more. Obviously I'm unable to put myself in the position of the average person shopping for cell phones, but I have to wonder if we've reached the point of diminishing returns once we surpassed the 300 ppi line on a phone.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for the advancement of technology, but I wonder if there are better boxes to check on a spec sheet.

I can't believe that this seems to be the first smartphone with front-facing stereo speakers. But I think it is.

Nokia N900, and one or two others that I saw advertised just after I got my Nokia but I forget the brands.

Technically, the Nokia speakers aren't front-facing - they're on each end, facing out. I don't use mine for a phone, but as a mini boombox. 32 gb internal storage (~29 gig useable) + up to 32 gb micro SD. Still available on newegg, last I checked.

The other one I definitely remember seeing pictures of had a screen that slid down to reveal front-facing stereo speakers along the exposed top edge.

^^^That HTC is prob the one I'm thinking of.

I'm thinking an updated version of the N800/810 is probably closer to that ideal. Better kickstand and better speakers, and, IME, better battery life than the n900.

And another OEM falls for this 1080p malarky. Nevermind that 720p would offer a smoother framerate and longer battery life with nearly indistinguishable fidelity, they need to make a product that looks better on paper even if it results in a worse experience.

Yes, but I forgive them because they bucked the megapixel malarky instead. This camera, while only 4MP (actually, BECAUSE it's 4MP), should blow away everything else on the market with its larger sensor and photosite size.

I must have missed the part about what makes this phone special. HTC will need to operate well above this level if they hope to come back in any meaningful way. A standard high-end smart phone and some random camera tricks won't do it. To think HTC used to actually be a contender on the same pegging as Samsung. That seems like a long time ago now as they are relegated to bit player status.

I'm not real familiar with Android phones, but isn't it the general concensus that when you buy one, you will spend some time tweaking and modifying the software to get rid of crapware they put on there?

Honest question, just curious.

You are correct. If you're familiar with Android, however, the amount of cleaning up you have to do is substantially less than what is involved in configuring iOS not to default to Apple options. Primarily because you generally don't have to root the phone to get rid of the crapware.

I must have missed the part about what makes this phone special. HTC will need to operate well above this level if they hope to come back in any meaningful way. A standard high-end smart phone and some random camera tricks won't do it. To think HTC used to actually be a contender on the same pegging as Samsung. That seems like a long time ago now as they are relegated to bit player status.

We may be underestimating how hardware quality will influence purchasing decisions for the vast majority of purchasers.

Until I see one in person, I'll reserve judgment, but HTC must believe that beating Samsung in build quality will be enough to make this product successful.

This looks nice... but I'm seriously wondering about the lack of the Android Menu button... how is that going to work with 3rd party apps?

Ice Cream Sandwich redid the menu bar. Instead of Back, Home, Menu and Search as hardware buttons, you get three always-present software buttons (that is, they're rendered on the touchscreen, so they can move as you reorient the device)- Back, Home and Multitask. Some developers choose to add their own Menu button in the corner of the screen, others opt for an always-on "action bar" at the top or bottom. It works pretty well.

I'm not real familiar with Android phones, but isn't it the general concensus that when you buy one, you will spend some time tweaking and modifying the software to get rid of crapware they put on there?

Honest question, just curious.

Depends what you mean by crapware.

The stock software for texting, web browsing etc tends to be on the bare side of stock, so it's perhaps worth browsing Google Play for something better. But all the bells and whistles you don't need have never gotten in the way of using the Android phones and tables I've had my hands on.

HTC's Sense software seems ok, but they tend to put so much of the stuff on the phone that updates to later versions of Android are impossible without taking all of their software off.

I'm not real familiar with Android phones, but isn't it the general concensus that when you buy one, you will spend some time tweaking and modifying the software to get rid of crapware they put on there?

Honest question, just curious.

You are correct. If you're familiar with Android, however, the amount of cleaning up you have to do is substantially less than what is involved in configuring iOS not to default to Apple options. Primarily because you generally don't have to root the phone to get rid of the crapware.

But rooting your phone is always an option.

Rooting your phone seems to be the default option for any Android users who care to comment about their phone online. Does make you wonder how normal users get by at all.

Blah. I held a candle for HTC for quite a while, and was utterly disappointed by the last two phones I owned, the Sensation and the One S. HTC has nice looking designs, but the operation of the phones was really pretty terrible. Sense feels like more and more of a drag as stock android design continues to march on, and Sense's drastic customizations end up breaking more than they improve - Wifi direct didn't even work on the One S, and bluetooth customizations break a lot of apps, like bluetooth controller pairing with Wii or PS3 remotes.

Not just that, but they used to be on top of the updates - I'm still not sure if the 4.1 update has been pushed to the Tmo One S.

Asthetic designs have been another issue. While Samsung and LG figured out that either front face unlocking or side buttons made larger phones much easier to pick up and use, HTC stuck with the top wake button - really a step back after you get used to an improved system. The mechanical unlock button on the One S was really terribly designed as well.

I don't mind the capactive buttons on the front - in fact, I think it's good design to not eat up screen real estate when you don't need to. Even the dropping of the app switch button is forgiveable in my mind, but I don't like the overt HTC branding on the face, the way it's done. Feels kind of like what Verizon did to the Note 2. Right there in your face. Be a little more understated, people will appreciate it.

I disagree with the people thinking 1080p isn't an improvement and 720p is necessary for better performance or battery consumption - bullshit. The CPU/GPU is more than up to the task. Phones 2 years ago could externally output to 1080p displays and do just fine, and these CPU's are a world ahead. They'll have no problems keeping up, and the display itself will draw more power than the CPU load.

Maybe I'm naysaying and they'll come out with a great device, and everyone will love it. I really hope so, I want to like HTC again. But in my mind, they've fallen, and can't get up. I hated Samsung a couple years ago after owning the plague-ridden Vibrant, and now the S3 has completely redeemed them in my eyes. I'd like to see HTC do the same.

I must have missed the part about what makes this phone special. HTC will need to operate well above this level if they hope to come back in any meaningful way. A standard high-end smart phone and some random camera tricks won't do it. To think HTC used to actually be a contender on the same pegging as Samsung. That seems like a long time ago now as they are relegated to bit player status.

We may be underestimating how hardware quality will influence purchasing decisions for the vast majority of purchasers.

Until I see one in person, I'll reserve judgment, but HTC must believe that beating Samsung in build quality will be enough to make this product successful.

HTC has been beating Samsung in build quality for a long time. It's not a terribly hard thing to do. It also hasn't helped.

I'm not real familiar with Android phones, but isn't it the general concensus that when you buy one, you will spend some time tweaking and modifying the software to get rid of crapware they put on there?

Honest question, just curious.

Actually, I got a HTC EVO LTE in June 2012 -- the Sprint version of the One X, I guess. I have no problems with crapware on the phone. It has received two OS updates in the past ~8 months, though I would be surprised if it was updated again. HTC Sense does not make the phone seem slow, and I think the Sense Clock/Weather App is nice. Some people like Sense so much that you can find custom ROMs built around Sense.

In any case, HTC released an unlocker for this phone shortly after the phone went on sale. At some point I will start installing custom ROMs, but the default OS has been no problem to me in the last 8 months.

I must have missed the part about what makes this phone special. HTC will need to operate well above this level if they hope to come back in any meaningful way. A standard high-end smart phone and some random camera tricks won't do it. To think HTC used to actually be a contender on the same pegging as Samsung. That seems like a long time ago now as they are relegated to bit player status.

We may be underestimating how hardware quality will influence purchasing decisions for the vast majority of purchasers.

Until I see one in person, I'll reserve judgment, but HTC must believe that beating Samsung in build quality will be enough to make this product successful.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Samsung's build quality. HTC phones may feel slightly more solid and premium which is nice but it seems to come at the cost of replaceable battery and SD card slot. I guess the market is okay with Samsung's use of plastic so I don't think that will help HTC much. I'm not disputing that this is a nice phone but it seems pretty par for the course for a high end Android.